Boom Towns : Despite Bans, Fireworks Reported Selling Briskly in County

Killer Bees are here.

By July 4, they will be buzzing in the back yards of many Orange County residents, along with dozens of other fireworks that spark, fizz and pop. And from now until then, thousands are being sold from about 205 plywood and chicken-wire stands around the county.

Although the sale, possession and use of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks are legal only in seven cities in Orange County, buyers in those areas Friday were buying up their shares of Piccolo Petes, Meteor Showers and Flashing Wheels.

The Killer Bee, a fountain of light which also discharges sparkles of silver and gold, is just one of the most popular this year. Joe Blandino, who is operating a stand on Newport Boulevard for the Costa Mesa High School Basketball Boosters, said that the Ground Bloom Flowers, which spin at 300 r.p.m. and change colors, seem to be selling the best.

For about 25 nonprofit organizations in Costa Mesa, fireworks sales can be a great boost to their budgets. For example, the Costa Mesa High School swimming and water polo teams last year netted $8,700, Dean Cooper, the high school’s athletic director, said.

Blandino, whose group grossed about $7,000 last year, said sales seem to be even better this year. But he experienced a setback Friday when he found that his stand had been burglarized during the night. A chain lock had been cut and about $500 worth of fireworks taken.

Blandino and his associate, Scott Johnson, both professional fund-raisers, had been sleeping in a camper next to the stand but heard nothing during the night.

“This has never happened to me,” said Blandino, 39, who has sold fireworks since he was 16. “We’re just a charity organization and something like this happens. Now, we’re going to stay inside the booth all night.”

Down the street, where a local division of the American Youth Soccer Organization was selling fireworks to raise money for a trip to Hawaii, an automatic sprinkler system at a Del Taco almost wiped out the stand Wednesday.

“We were probably the only stand in Orange County that got flooded,” said Hillary Litwak, 41, one of 13 parents working to raise money.

Blandino said he expects 80% of his sales to come Monday and Tuesday, when residents get serious about their holiday entertainment and buy up assortment packs that can go as high as $100.

He also said that because more Orange County suburbs are ban

ning the sale of fireworks, his stand could be helped by the reduced competition.

Only Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Santa Ana and Westminster allow fireworks labeled safe and sane. State law bans all other fireworks, such as bottle rockets, firecrackers or Roman candles.

Joyce Brown, 30, brought her children, Christie, Brad and Jamie, and their dog, Emerald, to the stand to buy early. Brown bought $10 worth, including an assortment pack and some sparklers.

She would try not to light them until Tuesday, she said, but “with three kids, it’s hard to wait.”

What they didn’t buy were smoke balls. Those only stink up the yard, she advised, adding that fountains are among the best.

“They spray high and they’re colorful,” she said, “but they turn us on for about two seconds.”

Blandino said he considered the more expensive Chinese-made fireworks, which include the Happy Lamp that pops and turns into a lantern, superior to the American brands.

“The Chinese stuff is by far better than the American stuff,” he said. “The Americans can’t hold a candle to the Chinese.”

At the American Youth Soccer Organization’s stand, customer Mickey Ryan, 25, a student at UC San Diego, was satisfied with a Phoenix Tailhag.

“They’re real loud and obnoxious,” he said.

Litwak, who had just handed Ryan about $30 worth of fireworks, assured him: “It’s a perfect item if you have a neighbor you don’t like.”

STAR-SPANGLED Celebrations, parades and fireworks all over the Southland. View, Page 14.